Earlier this year, CalArts alumni Vincent Enrique Hernandez (Art BFA 21) and Francesca Lally (Art BFA 19) were announced as recipients of the 2026 AAF/Seebacher Fine Arts Prize.
Awarded annually by the American Austrian Foundation (AAF), the prize goes to fine arts graduate students or recent graduates from American universities. Winners receive a scholarship to attend one of the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts’ courses, as well as travel reimbursement, a stipend, and accommodations at the Foundation’s headquarters, Schloss Arenberg, a castle dating back to the 15th century.
Founded in 1953 by Austrian artist and writer Oskar Kokoschka, the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts is held at the picturesque Hohensalzburg Fortress, a medieval landmark overlooking the city of Salzburg. During their stay, fellows have the opportunity to learn from and work with world-renowned artists, curators, and art critics, while immersing themselves in a contemporary European art scene that differs from their academic experiences in the United States. The AAF has administered the program since 2000.
Hernandez is a Los Angeles-based artist whose practice engages with history, monuments, localism, and community through the appropriation of regional narratives. In 2023, his ongoing project Valley Tours was featured in the Hammer Museum’s Made in L.A. biennial. Following this, he received a Mohn LAND Grant, which supported the development of Field Permits, a site-specific public artwork. Last fall, his work was featured in the exhibition The Journey is the Destination: Recording Los Angeles, at Cal State Northridge.
Lally is an artist from New York working in Texas. Centering time as both a material and collaborator, her practice encompasses photography, film, performance, and print. After her time at CalArts, she earned an MFA in Printmaking from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and spent a year in residence at Temple University Rome. She was the 2025–26 St. Elmo Arts Residency Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin.
